1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel apparatus for detecting the presence of or determining or defining the shape of internal structure in an opaque or translucent object, methods of using the apparatus and methods of making the novel apparatus.
2. Prior Art Statement
The successful farming of birds is dependent upon many factors but the primary harvest of fertilized eggs and the successful incubation of those eggs determines the size of the farmer's flock. Most birds have egg shells that permit visible light to pass through the egg shell and the determination of a fertilized egg or a rotten egg can be determined by placing the egg before a light source such as a candle, hence the term "candling of eggs". Candling, however, permits only the simple act of determining if the egg is fertilized or rotten and little if any internal structure can be observed although the position of the air sac may sometimes be determined. Such a technique is usable only on translucent shells. Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged) defines opaque as "impervious to the rays of visible light" and translucent as "admitting and diffusing light so that objects beyond cannot be clearly distinguished." In these contexts, Webster's clearly refers to visible light, that portion of the light spectrum which is distinguishable by the human eye as contrasted to the invisible infrared or ultraviolet portions of the light spectrum.
Some bird eggs cannot be candied utilizing visible light. For instance, emu and cassowary eggs cannot be candied as the very dark green emu egg shells or the dark green spots on cassowary egg shells do not pass the portion of the white light spectrum that is visible to the human eye. An emu egg is therefore opaque to visible light and conventional techniques cannot be employed Therefore, it is impossible to determine if an emu egg is fertilized or rotten and disastrous results, such as an exploding rotten egg in the incubation chamber, are possible. The emu farmer has, therefore, relied upon tried and true methods of hatching other eggs and determined causes of poor hatch rates by careful documentation of all incubated emu eggs. Consequently, individuals desiring to hatch emu eggs are not as successful due to the inability to determine egg fertility, chick position, air cell size, location and embryonic development.
In the case of other ratites, some individuals are unable to candle these eggs effectively enough to determine chick position, and/or embryonic development and are desirous of a method and apparatus to enhance the hatch rate of these otherwise translucent eggs. Furthermore, the conventional poultry farmer could benefit from an enhanced method and apparatus of detecting the presence of fertilization or determining and defining the internal structure of these otherwise translucent bird eggs.
It is known to construct an egg tester to determine if translucent eggs are fresh by providing means to pass visible light through the eggs and observe the light reflected upon a mirror disposed below the eggs. For example, see the U.S. Pat. No. 752,806, issued on Feb. 23, 1904, to Preston B. Southworth.
It is known to provide a lamp as a visible light source disposed within a container having egg openings on the top thereof to determine the freshness of translucent eggs. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 808,117, issued on Dec. 26, 1905 to Jacob S. Shoemaker.
It is known to provide an incandescent lamp as a light source disposed within a container having egg openings on the top thereof to determine the freshness of translucent eggs. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 1,229,936, issued on Jun. 12, 1917 to Robert W. Gilpin or U.S. Pat. No. 1,236,080, issued on Aug. 7, 1917 to Henry Hickman.
It is further known to provide a luminescent light source disposed within a container having egg openings on the top thereof to determine the freshness of translucent eggs. For instance, see French Patent No. 1,049,578, issued on Aug. 19, 1953 to M. Pierre-Onofre Calafat.
It is also known to provide multiple reflectors mounted in each lane of a conveyor to direct light to each lane for the purpose of candling translucent eggs. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,168, issued on May 19, 1981 to Daniel C. C. Dewaele.
It is also known to provide a light source and a light sensor arranged in such an array that the translucent articles to be candied are shielded relative to each other. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,652, issued on Jun. 9, 1987 to Peter A. van Asselt, et al.
It is known to provide a method of detecting whether an egg is fertilized or diseased using a thermograph scanner to give a visual indication of a heat pattern emanating from an egg and comparing the visual indication with a known reference heat pattern. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. 4,788,427, issued on Nov. 29, 1988 to Pierre L. LeRoy.
Finally it is known to use an electric light source for visually inspecting a shotgun shell for the desired arrangement of powder, wad, and shot of a loaded shotgun shell and having means for transmitting a video signal to a remotely placed television set for viewing the image of each shell. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,511, issued on Feb. 4, 1992 to Howard L. Grisel.